Moved by plight of strays on Elephanta, tourist raises alarm

Some of the emaciated canines that live on Elephanta Island

The high number of emaciated stray dogs at Elephanta Island has grabbed the attention of a tourist who has been attempting to highlight the matter. Jeannette Thomas, a French and Israeli national who works for the United Nations as the head of mission in humanitarian emergencies, said that around 400 stray dogs on the island are severely malnourished as hungry monkeys often snatch their food - mostly tourists' leftovers - and no one has been tasked with feeding them.

Baliram Padmakar Thakur, the sarpanch of Elephanta village, said that he has written to the government officials concerned as well as the forest department but no efforts have been taken to sterilise stray dogs, whose numbers have skyrocketed after the lockdown.

Jeannette Thomas

Thomas told mid-day, "On September 27, I took a ferry from the Gateway of India to Elephanta. I was shocked to see around 25-30 starving dogs across the island and all were in a bad condition. I fed them whatever food I had in my bag. I purchased more food for the dogs. One dog, whom I named Bobby, was not able to walk properly due to malnutrition. I took the help of a security guard, Tejash Bhoir, who helped me feed the dogs. All canines and even some monkeys are in a bad shape and don't get enough food." She added that it was shocking to see the sheer amount of garbage on the shoreline of the island.

Thomas stated, "The guards didn't seem to be sensitised to animals' well-being, but they were kind enough to help me secure a perimeter so that Bobby, who was on the verge of dying from starvation and exhaustion, could have some rice. He also was covered in wounds. He was so scared and submissive, it was horrible to see. This made me so sad and disgusted that I decided to leave at once. However, on the way, I asked the guards to introduce me to the manager. He wasn't there but a guard told me that he would feed Bobby biscuits while I tried to contact NGOs."

Baliram Padmakar Thakur, sarpanch, Elephanta village

Since then, Thomas has been in touch with the guard almost daily. "I also posted this message on social media and started receiving help from Mumbai. Many NGOs have contacted me, but till now these helpless canines have not received any help," she said.

Sarpanch speaks

Thakur said an NGO would sterilise dogs on the island before the lockdown, but the canine population has increased now as fisherfolk abandon strays there. "Earlier, there were few dogs and monkeys on our Island, which has a radius of 10 kilometres. Now, there are more than 300-400 strays here. The villagers do give food to dogs but we will not be able to feed so many dogs and monkeys," he said. He added that he has contacted many NGOs but none of them helped the dogs. "If anyone comes forward to sterilise the strays, we will arrange for their food and accommodation," he said.

Forest officer reacts

Nathuram Kokare, range forest officer, Uran said, "We don't have the exact number of monkeys on the island. But if we find any injured animal, we help them. It is the responsibility of local government bodies to take care of strays. We've learnt that there is no dog feeder on the island and dogs are not getting sufficient food. Monkeys eat fruit from jungle areas. We don't provide food to them. We are here to protect and help the forest animals."

400
Estimated no of stray dogs on Elephanta Island